Stranger
by londonandtea
Summary: Amelia Zamora is a new student at Hogwarts, entering fifth year, making quick friends with everyone in the Gryffindor house. Everybody thinks she was homeschooled by her crazy mother, but what happens when the someone sees the dark mark on her arm? OC/GW
1. Chapter 1

Amelia stood in line with the rest of the first years, but being a good 4 years older, she towered over them, receiving curious looks from the students around her. Even though she felt extremely uncomfortable, she kept her eyes straight at the large banners that were placed right above the teachers table. She looked down briefly, and found Dumbledore to be staring at her with quite an amused face. She rolled her eyes, and went back to staring at the banners.

"As I call your name, " said Professor McGonagall, "you will come sit on the stool, and the sorting hat will be placed upon your head, sorting you in to your designated house." She looked down at her parchment. "Olivia Astwood." was the first name she called out, and a small girl with long blonde hair walked up very quickly to the stool, and sat down. A large pointed hat was placed upon her head, and it soon came to life. Amelia tried not to look too surprised, as she knew Dumbledore was still looking at her, and she didn't want him to think she was enjoying herself.

"Hufflepuff!" yelled the sorting hat, and she jumped off the stool, almost falling down, and walked over to the cheering table of yellow.

The list went on and on, more first years getting sorted, and Amelia still was not sorted. When she was the last one, she knew something was up, and she did not like it, even though she did not know what it was. Dumbledore stood up, and smiled.

"I would like to give a special welcome to our new student, Amelia Zamora, who will be joining us, starting her fifth year at Hogwarts, under special circumstances." he said, his twinkling eye looking down. Amelia could feel the heat rising up to her cheeks. She did not need this, Everyone could have thought she was a freakishly tall eleven year old, she would not have minded.

"Step on." said Professor McGonagall, and she did so, not nearly as excited as the rest of the scrawny first years. She sat down, the sorting hat being placed upon her messy mane of brown and blonde. She sighed, staring down at her fingers as the sorting hat kept on whispering things in her ear. "Yes, very ambitious indeed..."

"Bloody hell, shut up and sort me already, I haven't got all day." she said to the hat, looking up. She hears a cough coming from Professor McGonagall, and several giggles from the students.

"Gryffindor!" it yelled, and the school cheered. She got off, and walked over to the first space she could find at the table, sitting down.

"And now," said Dumbledore, "we feast!" and a line of what looked like a hundred different plates of food suddenly appeared.

Around her, students where talking about their summers, and while Amelia was grabbing a drumstick, a ginger boy in front of her introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Ron Weasley." he said, and everyone else around him stopped talking, trying to listen to see if Amelia sounded like a nice girl, or an upright bitch. She smiled nicely and said as nicely as possible "Hello, I'm Amelia. What year are you in?" she needed friends, and now was the time to make them. Everyone around them tensed down, and was freely talking again. After Ron and Amelia talked about both being in fifth year, and about taking something called O.W.L's (she remembered Dumbledore saying something about this) she drifted off into a conversation with a girl called Hermione about why she is starting in fifth year.

"Well, I was kind of home schooled by my mum. The ministry of magic found out, and they weren't too pleased about that." she said, completely lying through her teeth. She remembered this was the best lie her and Dumbledore came up with, and it had seemed to work.

She found it was easy to talk to them, still not being so open about her life, and "being home schooled". She always changed the subject to things about Hogwarts, such as Quidditch, how annoying Professor Snape is supposed to be, and other things.

After about forty five minutes of feating, it was time to go to bed. Hermione walked beside Amelia, talking about the education at Hogwarts, the load of classes she taking this year, and how many classes Amelia was taking that year.

When they reached the dormitory, everyone was really sleepy, and they quickly ended their summer conversation, and going off to bed. Amelia did the same thing, wishing Hermione, a girl named Ginny, and another one named Marie, goodnight. When they all turned off their lamps, she slowly reached down into her trunk, for a cotton ball and a small vile of clear liquid.

She closed the curtains around her bed, and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a black dark mark, outlined in red from the pain it was causing, embedded on her arm. She dabbed the cotton ball in the liquid, and rubbed it around her arm, numbing the pain of the Dark lord calling.


	2. Chapter 2

"How have you been adjusting this first week?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, slightly smiling.

"Fine, I guess." she said, slightly uncomfortable.

"I see you've made a bond with Hermione Granger. Glad to see you making friends with the right kind of people."

"Yeah, she's real nice." she said, sighing. She wanted to leave, now. Even if it meant going to potions class. This was just too uncomfortable.

"What about the mark? Is it hurting?" he asked, now his voice concerned.

"A bit, yeah. I've decided to see if Professor Snape can make me something stronger."

"I'm still researching to see what I can do. Well, I can see you feel uncomfortable talking with me here, and I understand. You may leave now." He smiled at her, and she slightly smiled back, turning away and leaving.

She rubbed her arm, trying to get the pain to go away, but it seemed to make it worse. She walked as quickly as she could to potions class, but she was still half an hour late. She hesitated to open the door. She knocked instead, waiting for his permission. The door opened slightly, and she opened it as little as she needed, and slipped in.

"Miss Zamora, this is not making a good impression, your first week here."

"Excuse me Professor, I was with Professor Dumbledore, I thought he already informed you." She said, unconsciously rubbing her arm once more. It now felt like someone was not branding her arm with burning hot iron. He looked down at her arm, then back at her.

"Take a seat. You'll have to get your notes from the person next to you." he said, turning around. She looked down, and saw Hermione waving at her. She walked embarrassed to the front of the class, curing at Hermione in her head for sitting in the front of the class.

"I saved a seat, just incase." she said, pushing her journal with notes over to Amelia. She nodded and smiled, taking out her own journal, quill and ink. She copied down the notes and quickly, but neatly, as she could, and she finished just in time, as the bell ran through the school as she was packing away.

"For homework, due next class, I want a two 12 inch sheets of parchment, your topic is how each one of these potions could help a magical creature, that creature can be of your choice. But I do not want any idiotic, first year creature, such as cornish pixies." he said, as the students were filing out of the class. "Miss Zamora, if you could?"

Amelia looked at Hermione. "Go on, I'll catch up." she said, turning around.

"Do you need a stronger potion?" he asked, looking down at arm.

"Yeah, actually. It's getting worse." she said, rubbing at it again.

"Stop touching it, the friction from the robe to your arm will only make it worse. Come back at the end of the day, before going to the Great Hall, I'll have a stronger potion finished." he said, walking towards his ingredients cabinet.

"Thank you, Professor." she said, walking away.

"Come in late to my class again, and it'll be 50 points from Gryffindor." he said, as he started to heat up his cauldron.

"It won't happen again." she said, walking out.

At around 6:30, most of the students started to walk down to the Great Hall for dinner. Amelia had already gotten the potion from Professor Snape, surprising to her, he was actually being what some would consider nice.

It was a relief to have the pain stop, but her arm was still red around the dark mark that was embedded on her arm, She sighed, rolling down her sleeve. It made her sad, that she would forever have a reminder of what the first sixteen years of her life were like.

"Hey, Amelia, come on." said Angelina, urging her to walk down to the Great Hall with her. She nodded, and walked down the stairs with her. When she was downstairs, her walk with Angelina was short-lived, when a tall ginger boy came a grabbed her by the hand pulling her away. She smiled, and kept on walking alone to the door.

"Hello." someone said behind her. She turned around, and saw the same red headed boy... No, thos one had on a different shirt. She looked behind him, and saw Angelina with... what?

"That's my twin brother, Fred. I'm George." he said, as if he was reading her mind. Or maybe her face just gave away her confusion.

"Oh, that's pretty cool. I'm Amelia, nice to meet you George." she said, walking out, George following her.

"I supposed it is rather cool. So, new girl. How's life at Hogwarts?" he asked.

"Don't call me new girl."

"It irritated you, right? I'll probably do it once or twice more. It's just what I do." he said, grinning. She looked up at him, slightly mad, but considering he was quite adorable, she had to let it slide.

"Life at Hogwarts is nice, I guess. It's different." she said shrugging.

"How come you just started 5th year?" he asked, walking in sync with her down the stairs.

"I've been homeschooled." she said. She always got nervous when saying this, scared someone would ask her if she was lying. "The ministry found out, and didn't think that was appropriate if I wanted a future, so my parents were forced to put me in Hogwarts. I've always wanted to come, so I don't really mind."

"Your mum is a bit of a nutter, no offence. Why would she homeschool you?"

"No, it's alright. She is a bit of a nutter, she thought being around so many teenagers would "corrupt" my innocence or something." she said. Where did she come up with all these lies?

"Well, just try not to get pregnant, and you'll be fine." he said, shrugging as if it was nothing. She stifled up a laugh, even though she had no idea why she found that funny.

George and Amelia were walking rather slow to the Great Hall, but they didn't seem to notice. He started to tell her about a business plan he has with his brother, on how they make joke sweets and items.

"You seem like the kind of person that would do that, no offence." she said, smiling at him.

"Oh, none taken, that's a compliment." he said.

They soon got to the Great Hall, the feat almost to begin, and they both took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Throughout the night, George and Amelia would steal looks are each other, embarrassed if one found the other looking.

When the feast ended, everyone got up, so she wasn't able to go back up to Gryffindor tower with George, but Hermione grabbed her by the hand, grinning.

"First week in, and you've already got an admirer!" she squealed like a school girl. As they walked up to the common room, they giggled and talked about George and who Hermione fancied, which she refused to tell Amelia.

Everyone went to bed rather quickly, everyone tired from eating too much, but they gossiped for a while. It was lights out about half an hour later. It took her a while, but Amelia fell asleep, her arm barely hurting.

"_Amelia darling, come to auntie Bella. I have something fun to show you." she said, her wild black hair styled in an up do. A small girl with long blonde hair, can't be older than five, walked over to her aunt, smiling. Bellatrix hugged the little girl, in joy. "She'll grow up to be amazing." said someone next to her._

"_Indeed she will Narcissa. Draco and her will be great friends, I promise you." she said, smiling up at the woman._

"_Bring me the girl." said a cold voice at the far end of the room, ending the conversation. Bellatrix took the girl by the hand, and walked her over to the man. His face was hidden from the little girl, but she was still afraid. "Don't cry, it'll be fine." She said, edging the girl to take a step forward._

_A cold hand took hers. "You will be my most loyal follower, I know you will." he said, pointing his wand at her forearm. "Morsmordre!"_

Amelia woke up in jolt, unable to breathe. She struggled, but she couldn't make a sound. She closed her eyes and came to her senses, that she needed to calm down. Slowly, she started to breathe again, but she was still shaking.

Her arm was now burning like it never has before. It felt like someone was carving into her skin with a knife. She pulled out the vile that Professor Snape gave her and without thinking dumped the whole thing on her arm, immediately soothing the pain.

What was she to do? Should she tell Dumbledore what just happened, or keep it to herself? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, unable to think about anything.


	3. Chapter 3

Amelia couldn't go back to sleep, the images of her dream flashing vividly in her mind. She decided to go for a walk around the castle, even if it was the middle of the night.

She walked around, looking out at the windows, and at her surroundings. Hogwarts was a beautiful castle, especially at night. Looking at the paintings sleep, a few of them startled, asking her why she was walking around the castle late at night. "Yes, that's something I'd like to know as well." said a monotone, yet harsh, voice behind her. Snape.

She turned around, meeting his criticizing gaze. "Well?" he held his wand between them, the light hurting her eyes.

"I couldn't sleep." she said plainly, knowing that really wouldn't get her out of any trouble she was facing.

"That's no excuse to be roaming the hallways at night like a miscreant. I'll have to take off points." he said, his nostrils flaring. Before Amelia could stop herself, her curiosity got the better of her.

"Doesn't it ever appear in your dreams?" she blurted out, regretting it right after. His expression changed slightly to confusing. "Getting the...mark. I guess I always have dreams about it because- well I don't know why. I never saw his face, I just felt the pain, and Bellatrix's crazed face. She was so happy-"

"Enough." he said sharply, shutting her up. "Come."

Amelia followed Snape to the dungeons, where he invited her to his room. He pulled a chair, and sat her in a corner. He set for tea to serve her while he looked for something in his drawers. He pulled out a little vile of a purple liquid, and handed it to her. "Guaranteed no dreams, 6 to 8 hour sleep. I don't suggest you take it tonight, unless you want to miss my class, and get 100 points taken from your house."

"Thank you, I appreciate it greatly." she drank her tea in silence as she scanned his room. It was small, plain, and dark. He had no pictures, just a few books that added to the musky scent. "Once you finish your tea, you can see yourself out." he said, leaving the room. A few minutes later, she was ready to leave.

Getting out of the dungeons was marvelous, considering the cold, damp feeling it had. Getting back to Gryffindor dormitory was difficult. She didn't want to go back down and ask Snape for help, partly because she knew she couldn't find it, but also because he would think she was a total idiot.

She sighed, and heard a faint popping sound. She stayed quiet, and heard it again, with some fizzling. She walked in the direction of the noise. Half curious, half hoping it was a Gryffindor that could help her get back to the dormitory.

The closer she got to the noise, the louder and more consistent it got. She also heard a bit of whispering. The noise led her to a boys bathroom. The smell of smoke cam from it, and she could now see some sparks lighting with the popping sound.

She gulped and opened the door quickly, to find Fred and George huddled around with a mess of boxes around them. They looked up, with shocked faces.

"Merlin's beard, Amelia, what the hell are you doing here? Close the door!" Fred dragged her inside, slightly annoyed. "If we get caught, we'll be in huge trouble."

"Oh stuff it, Fred, since when do you care about getting in trouble. I, for one, am happy to see Amelia's bright face in these wee hours of the morning." George grinned at her. She couldn't help but smile at him.

"Fred, I hope you know I heard these things from quite a distance away. What the hell are they anyways?"

"It's a secret darling. If we tell you-" said George

"Then we'd have to kill you." they finished together.

"Message received. I never saw anything. Although the curiosity will kill me." she said, trying to make out what was in the boxes.

"You'll find out soon enough. You'd best be leaving now. We're just about to pack up before it's time to wake up for breakfast." said George, as they both started to clean up their mess.

"Actually, I've got a slight problem. I don't know how to get back to the dormitories. I was going for a night walk, and now I'm all lost..."

"You're close. Make a left down this hallway, all the way to the end, where the portrait of the woman with a bird nest in her hair is. Turn right up the stairs, and you should see the entrance." Fred explained. Amelia nodded in thanks, and turned to leave. "By the way Fred, you've got ash all over your forehead."

"Struggles of a working man."

* * *

While getting dressed in the morning, Angelina decided to tell Ginny about Amelia and George. "I'm telling you, they've got a real connection. Looks like she won't have a problem getting a date for the ball."

"Lack thereof. We've only spoken a few times, we're not even friends. Ball? What Ball?" asked Amelia, as they started to walk to breakfast.

"Every year, we have a Christmas ball right before we leave for break. It's really nice, although last year went a bit weird when Professor Flitwick drank too much..." said Angelina.

Dumbledore explained more before breakfast started, and that fired a whole mess of conversations about dresses and dates. "No one is going to ask me. I'm a nobody! Why should I even go?"

"I'm pretty sure you'll have more than enough suitors. Plus, it's still fun. I went alone until fourth year." Angelina said, trying to make her feel better. They talked about it for a while more, and Amelia was starting to her excited.

She looked up to the teachers table, and saw Snape. His face was grey, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look up, and Amelia was worried his apparent sickness had to do with her and the night before.

Walking to class, Amelia started to feel a bit sick herself. She got quite dizzy, and had to sit down at the staircase to catch her breath. "Are you alright?" asked Hermione, who has joined them at breakfast. She nodded, even though she wasn't. She stood up, and tried to keep on walking, when a sharp pain arose from her arm, where the Dark Mark was.

She yelled, and everyone one around her looked to see what was happening. She stumbled down, hitting her forehead the edge of one of the stairs. Hyperventilating, her friends tried to calm her down, and ask for help.

"Everyone move out of the way!" yelled the familiar voice of Dumbledore. Everything sounded warped, so she was unsure. She could feel herself sweating, as her vision became black. "Someone call Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. Tell them to meet me in the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible. Now, run!"

She blacked out, writhing in pain, with the images of Bellatrix and the Malfoys in her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Flashes of colors filled Amelia's mind. She heard the shrill laughing of Bellatrix, and other voices speaking in the background. They faded in and out of her ears. She felt something grab her wrists and tie her.

"No..." she called out. Madam Pomfrey was tying her hands to the bed, as her fingernails were causing her hands to bleed. "Stop, no shackles..."

She awoke with a jolt, her body in a frenzy. It took Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape to hold her down while Madam Pomfrey tried to force a relaxant down her throat.

"Let me go!" her body slowly stopped moving, as she laid still on her bed.

"Amelia? You are at Hogwarts." She opened her eyes, obviously afraid. It took her a moment to get her thoughts together, but then she sighed in relief.

"Oh God..." she opened her eyes and started to cry. "I'm not particularly fond of your class, Professor Snape, but you have no idea how happy it is to see you." They chuckled around her, everyone apart from Snape.

"Everyone, leave us. I need a moment to speak with Amelia alone." said Dumbledore.

"I don't know if she's ready, Albus. I have absolutely no idea what happened to her..." said Madam Pomfrey, looking worried at Amelia.

"It's fine." she said, nodding. Madam Pomfrey left, closing the blinds. She looked down at her wrist straps. "Why am I being held down?"

Dumbledore unfastened the straps. "You were clutching your hands so hard, you were bleeding." She looked at her palm, and in fact she had 4 fingernail marks on each palm. He looked at Amelia, worried.

"The Dark Mark... I felt like someone was literally cutting off my arm." she said, gulping. "Everything went black, I saw Bellatrix looking at me. It didn't feel like a memory. It felt like at that exact moment, she was staring down at me."

Dumbledore staring at the bed sheets, thinking. Amelia took a sip of water, waiting awkwardly. "This is terrible. Everyone is going to think I'm a freak..."

"On the contrary. You have a group of friends waiting outside of the door." he smiled, his eyes still worried. "I must ask you one thing before I leave and let your friends see you." Amelia nodded.

"How does Draco not know who you are? I presume you spent most of your time around the family...?" Amelia cleared her throat. She was uncomfortable to talk about the topic.

"I was kept like a dog. Do you not remember the state I was in? I was kept down in the cellar, as an experiment. Draco saw me once as a small child, and began to cry. Their original plan didn't work out well with me." her eyes started to tear, but she kept her composure. She tried not to think of the torture the Death Eaters put her through, trying to raise her only knowing the dark side.

"Original plan?" he asked, but put his hand up. "You don't have to answer."

"I can't if I wanted too. I just remember overhearing their conversation one day. 'Why aren't things going as planned with her girl'. I'm assuming they had a different plan for me than what they actually did..."

"I'm sorry. I do not know the full extent of your torture and pain-"

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'd rather not think about it. What should I tell my friends what happened to me?"

Madam Pomfrey was asked back, and while she didn't ask any questions, it was clear she was still curious as to what occurred with Amelia. Between her and Dumbledore, they decided to blame it on another student cursing her, as it was possible a Slytherin student could have a 'personal vendetta', as Dumbledore called it, against Amelia.

"They won't ask too many questions. Now, Madam Pomfrey, what are friends for if not to make you feel better on your worst days?" said Dumbledore as Madam Pomfrey was about to object.

"Amelia!" exclaimed Hermione, slightly yelling. Along with her came Ginny, Angelina, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry.

"What in the world happened?" asked Harry, as they all huddled around Amelia. Some of them brought sweets, Fred and George bringing jokes and fireworks, dumping them on her bed."

"According to Madam Pomfrey, someone cast a curse on me. I don't know why they would..." Hermione and Ginny gasped, while Harry and Ron went on about how it was probably a Slytherin.'

"I can't wait to get my hands on them. Why would anyone do anything to you?!" said Angelina. Amelia shrugged, pretending to sort through her candy and treats.

"Why did you guys bring me fireworks and jokes?" she asked.

"Because we don't want you getting too fat on sweets-" said Fred

"And what's better than starting a firework show in the Hospital wing with some farting noises?" said George. He stood right by her bedside, which made Amelia's hairs stand up.

Fred and Angelina said their farewells, as they headed off to class. Once Hermione and Ginny started talking about the ball and dress shopping with Amelia, they said their farewells, and went on their way. George however, did not budge.

"Hermione. Would you accompany me to the bathroom?" Ginny said, eyeing George and Amelia. Hermione burrowed her eyebrows.

"Can't you go to the bathroom-ow!" Ginny elbowed her in the ribs.

"I need you to accompany me. Amelia will be fine, she'll _be with George."_ Hermione caught on, and giggled.

"We'll be right back."

_Honestly, how daft do they think I am? _

George and Amelia sat in silence, awkwardly. George kept shifting in his seat for a few minutes, until he stood up and walked over to the foot of her bed.

"Now, if you want to say no, you can say no now."

"Say no to what?" Amelia asked, wondering where this was going.

"Well, you know, about the ball, and stuff." He cleared his throat. Her eyes got large, and she blushed. Was George Weasley really asking her out to the ball? After seeing her have a fit in the middle of the Great Hall?

"Okay, see, you are taking too long, if you want to say no, just say it, don't keep a man waiting, it's disheartening-" he rambled nervously.

"No!"

"No? Merlin, Amelia, I thought-"

"No, George. I mean, yes, I would love to go to the ball with you!" she said. His eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Really? With a poor, slightly annoying, yet witty red headed boy like me?"

"Oh stop it! I should be the one wondering how you would ever ask me..." they were back in silence, blushing and straying for each other's gazes.

"Alright, times up, time to go. Amelia needs her rest." said Madam Pomfrey, throwing out George, and stopping Hermione and Ginny from entering.

"Tell me tomorrow!" said Ginny, obviously assuming something happened between her and George.

"What are all these sweets? No, no, no!" Madam Pomfrey got her friends gifts, and put them in a basket far from Amelia's reach. "You'll get them back tomorrow. Now sleep."

When she thought about it, Amelia was quite tired. Looking up, she saw the sky darkening. She was afraid however, of what her dreams might hold. She cradled herself in her blankets, and felt something in her pocket. It was Professor Snape's potion, the one to help her sleep. She took a swig, and in a few moments, felt very drowsy. She was awake long enough to slip the vile back into her pocket before falling into a deep sleep.


End file.
